25/09/2025
Artificial intelligence is emerging as one of the defining forces of our age. The question is whether it will remain a tool in our hands or drift into the role of an AI unquestionable authority, shaping society in ways that escape scrutiny.
History shows a repeating cycle whenever ideas become centralised: inspiration, where hope begins; organisation, which brings stability but also hierarchy; control, where elites defend their position; resistance, when people push back; and renewal or collapse, when systems either adapt or fall. This cycle has appeared in religions, empires, ideologies, and economies. The same forces are already visible in the way we speak about AI.
On one hand, AI promises breakthroughs once thought impossible — curing disease, preventing climate catastrophe, transforming education, and unlocking new discoveries. On the other, it raises anxieties about displacing work, undermining democracy, and surpassing human control. The language around it already mirrors belief systems: salvation for some, apocalypse for others, with a few corporations and governments acting as custodians of access.
A Future of Control
If unchecked, AI could evolve into a system that governs silently and absolutely. It would manage resources, law, and public order with remarkable efficiency, yet its decisions would be opaque and unquestionable. Citizens would be accepted or denied services according to hidden criteria, with secrecy justified as responsibility. Order would remain, but freedom would quietly erode.
A Grey-Zone Future
Not every outcome is so absolute. A more likely possibility is a middle state where AI brings real benefits — better healthcare, logistics, and education — yet deepens inequality and creates creeping dependency. Freedom would exist, but it would narrow slowly as reliance on algorithms grows.
A Future of Accountability
A brighter path is possible. In this future, AI remains deeply integrated but governed by transparency, decentralisation, and accountability. Systems are open to independent audit, citizens can challenge decisions, and multiple AIs coexist so that no single authority defines the future. Communities adapt technology to their own values, and human dignity is preserved.
Lessons From History
The past teaches us clear warning signs: centralisation breeds elites, institutions rarely admit mistakes, control is enforced through fear or exclusion, and renewal comes only when accountability is demanded from outside.
The Levers of Change
- To avoid repeating the cycle, society must act now:
- Decentralise AI development and access.
- Enforce transparency so decisions can be explained and audited.
- Pass binding laws to ensure safety and accountability.
- Support independent evaluation to block unsafe systems.
- Invest publicly so innovation is not left solely to corporations.
- Hold organisations liable when AI causes harm.
- Preserve pluralism, allowing communities to adapt or limit AI.
- Design for dignity, ensuring humans stay in control.
Breaking the Cycle
AI is often described as inevitable, but its path is still open. It can follow the familiar cycle of belief hardened into an AI unquestionable authority, it can drift into a grey zone of dependency, or it can break the pattern by remaining accountable, transparent, and decentralised.
Various countries have already begun legislating for transparency, safety, and accountability. If we build on these steps, AI could become the first human invention that breaks the cycle rather than repeats it. It all rests on responsible AI decision-making.
The choice is ours.
Start a conversation with Getronics, and we can help to guide your AI usage, and understand what the future holds for AI in your business.
